LINKS: Term Three Week Nine
From the Acting Principal
Hello St Mary’s community,
We had a wonderful Science Week last week. I was fortunate enough to drop into several of the “Big Bang” workshops and could see how exciting Brett, the presenter, made science. The culmination of our Science Week was Thursday, with our Science Fair in the evening. It was certainly a fantastic event! Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the Science Challenge, with their amazing science or engineering investigations. A huge THANK-YOU goes to Tenille White and our P&F for initiating the idea and turning it into reality, with countless hours of organisation and preparation. A special thank-you to Murray Aylwin for building and powering the water rocket launchers.
Our first Prep Orientation day begins this week, with a half-day today. There will be another half-day next Wednesday, and two full Wednesdays in Weeks 2 and 3 of Term 4. We are looking forward to having three Prep classes in 2024. I know the orientation days will be full of excitement and perhaps a little bit of trepidation for our 2024 Preppies. Our current Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 classes will also be experiencing transition days in their respective classes.
Our whole-school testing continues this week and next week. This week is PAT-Reading and PAT-Maths for Years 4 to 10, and next week for Years 2 and 3. These tests help teachers to gather important data and “triangulate” students’ progress, along with NAPLAN and other tests.
Semester Two Parent-teacher interview bookings can now be made. All interviews will be held Tuesday the 3rd of October (the afternoon of the first day of Term 4).Please use the Sentral Parent Portal App to make bookings. Bookings are 10 minutes in duration. For interviews with secondary teachers who teach your child for more than one subject, please make no more than two bookings (20 minutes maximum) with any one teacher; this is to ensure that everyone is able to make an appointment. Bookings are available from 2.30pm or 3.00pm (depending on the teacher), and finish at 6pm.
School Uniform: Just a reminder that we have now completed the transition to Summer uniform for the remainder of the year.
I will be heading off early Sunday morning with the Year 6 students and staff to Canberra for the week. It is sure to be an exciting, rewarding (and probably tiring) trip! Have a wonderful and safe term break.
God bless,
John Shaw
Deputy Principal
Religious Life
Year 3 Tree Planting
Next Friday 15th September, our Year three students will be taking part in National Tree Planting Day. The students will be going on an excursion to the Waterpark to work alongside Goondiwindi Council to plant new trees along the fence line at the Waterpark. We hope these students have a wonderful time and learn about the importance of tree planting in our community.
Before School Arrangements
We are making some changes to our before school arrangements which we will trial next week. All students will still sit and gather at 8:20am in the Undercover Area.
- The years 4-6 students will be taken to play on the bus Oval (this will also assist with supervising students getting off the bus).
- The Prep – Year 3 students will be taken to the Bottom oval to play.
These changes take effect next Monday 11th September. Our Prep students will transition to this drop off routine effective from next Monday. Class teachers will provide additional information about this for their Prep families in their correspondence.
Awards Night
This Year the School’s Awards Night is scheduled for Monday 20th November starting at 5pm. This year we will be combining the two nights into one, with a sausage sizzle in the middle. This will also give families the opportunity to arrive/depart for the session that applies to their family. More information about Awards Night will follow next term.
Karra Suhr
Assistant Principal Religious Education
Secondary News
Every two weeks, I am filled with excitement and gratitude as I witness the multitude of events and activities that take place here at St. Mary's. It is truly a vibrant and inspiring school, and I'm so thankful to be a part of this dedicated and hardworking staff. The past fortnight was no exception, with a diverse range of activities and events.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to Leah Gee for her diligent work as a work experience student, both inside and outside the classroom. Her enthusiastic participation in the Book Week parade was particularly commendable.
Speaking of Book Week, it was one of the standout events of the past two weeks. This week provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to rediscover the joy of reading, reminding us all that knowledge resides within books, and the ability to read and acquire this knowledge is a gift to be cherished. The highlight of the week was undoubtedly the Book Week Parade, where students from Prep to Year 10 delighted in dressing up as characters or authors from their favourite books. I was personally impressed by the effort put into the costumes. Well done to everyone involved!
Another fantastic event from the recent fortnight was our full-day Year 7-10 Science incursion. This engaging event captivated our students throughout the day, featuring activities such as coding, electronics, AI, machine imaging, and virtual reality. I extend my gratitude to Liz Cleland from 'integratedSTEM' for hosting this event and to the P&F for generously covering the costs, allowing our students to experience this incredible opportunity. Liz will return to Goondiwindi on Thursday, October 12, 2023, with the 'OutbackSTEM Roadshow,' so keep an eye out for promotional posters and flyers.
Continuing with the science theme, the Science Fair was a resounding success. It not only showcased our students' hard work over the past few weeks but also provided a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate their dedication and achievements in understanding scientific concepts and processes. Among the highlights was the excitement surrounding the water bottle rocket launches. A special thank you goes to Murray Aylwin for constructing and launching two rockets.
At St. Mary's, we understand that learning extends beyond the classroom. Our staff members have attended professional development sessions focused on social justice and the organisation of retreat programs for our students. Stay tuned for more opportunities as we continue to expand these programs and offerings in the future.
We recently celebrated Teacher Aid Appreciation Week, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank all our School Officers for their unwavering dedication and hard work displayed on a daily basis.
Currently, we are in the midst of Whole School Testing, a crucial step in tracking our students' progress in Literacy and Numeracy. Additionally, our staff has been diligently working to ensure a smooth transition to the new Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum. More information on this will be available soon.
Auditions for 'Starry Starry Night' have been so successful, and we eagerly anticipate this special event next term. We are also excited about the upcoming school musical auditions for next year. I wish all our aspiring talents the best of luck! Once again, I encourage all students to seize every opportunity, whether it is in the classroom, on the playground, or beyond. Have a wonderful and safe September holiday, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 4.
Mr Bevin Goodes
Assistant Principal Secondary
Sports Report: Prep - Year 6
ARL Development
Last week we had Lachlan Sanky visit our school and took some of our Thursday classes for some rugby league skills. The kids really enjoyed their day and it was a great way to finish their touch unit.
Darling Downs Aquathlon
Those students born 2013 and 2012 (boys and girls) who would like to compete in the Darling Downs Aquathlon in Dalby on Friday 27th October, please sign up outside the library. This is for students who are swim squad ability. The race is a 1km run, a 200m swim and a 1km run to finish.
P-2 Swim Carnival
The annual P-2 Swim Carnival has been set for Friday 3rd November, from 8.45 – 10.45am. More information to come.
“If you train hard, you’’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat”
Yours in sport,
Kathy Spicer
Library News
Book Fair in Term Four
We will be holding our annual Book Fair next term in week 4 - 23rd October to 27th October. Please look out for opening times in LINKS in weeks 1 and 3 of Term 4.
Book Fairs are a great opportunity to purchase Christmas presents for your little book lover!
Holiday Borrowing
Next week is once again holiday borrowing week for students who wish to borrow for the break. We kindly ask that all books are returned next week or that students have their current loans with them to re-borrow should they wish to do so.
Would you like to know what books we have in our fabulous library?! Find us at: https://au.accessit.online/STM25/
Thank you for your help to encourage reading! If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail the library staff at:
goondiwindilib@twb.catholic.edu.au
Enjoy your week!
Emma Petrie
Teacher Librarian
Guidance Counsellor
R U OK?
This week St Mary’s will engage in activities that will encourage students to spend some quality time with their friendship groups. A central theme for R U OK? Day is the 4 steps used as a guide to have a meaningful R U OK? Conversation.
These are:
- Ask R U OK?
- Listen
- Encourage Action
- Check-in
More details can be found on the following LINK:
The official National Day for R U OK? Is September 14, 2023.
Remember by asking R U OK? then listening, encouraging action and checking in, your conversation could change a life.
Child Protection Week
One of the most important keys to safe and healthy childhoods is to ensure parents and caregivers have the support they need. Raising children is a bit like sailing a boat. But when we experience serious stress – e.g., due to finances, health, isolation, or other problems – raising children can feel like sailing in a storm. Support can be the lighthouse that we all need to navigate these rough waters.
These are some of the main Helplines that you can call for guidance:
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (make sure your kids know this one)
Parentline Qld: 1300 30 1300
Lifeline: 13 11 14
13 YARN: 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days - free and confidential service run by, and for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Or: refer to the Australian parenting network - raisingchildren.net.au
This year during Child Protection Week we have encouraged students to think of themselves as ‘upstanders’. An upstander is a person who speaks up, or acts, when they recognise that something is wrong. Even very young children can be taught to recognise concepts such as anger, mean on purpose and unfairness, and to tell an adult if someone is being harmed. Older children and young people may be capable of becoming more involved in advocacy if they are helped to practice this skill. As adults we play an important role in modelling these behaviours when our children are watching us manage conflict that may arise in our everyday lives.
During Child Protection Week our students will engage in a number of activities to reinforce safety messages - The term ‘upstander ‘may require some explanation to students. More information and ideas about ‘upstanding’, and teaching students to be ‘upstanders’ can be found in an article by Dr Michelle Borba Teaching kids to be upstanders https://micheleborba.com/bullying-2/mobilizing-bystanders-to-stand-up-to-bullies/. Should any student be concerned about how they are being treated by an adult, or another child or young person, they are encouraged to speak up to a trusted staff member or one of our School Student Protection Contacts (SSPCs). All students are reminded who our SSPCs are, as they are depicted on the ‘Keeping Safe’ posters located around the school. Every student has received a colourable bookmark as a memento of the activities this week.
Child Protection really is everyone’s business, and we are committed to making our school a safe, secure, and protected place of learning for every student.
Paul Fomiatti
Guidance Counsellor
Careers
What is Career Development?
Career development is the complex process of managing learning, work and transitions over one's lifespan. Adopting the High 5 Principles of Career Development equips you and your teenager to approach the process positively. The High 5 Messages on Career Development are based on the concept that one’s education, work and life pathway is a work in progress rather than a straight line.
Adopting the High 5 Principles of Career Development equips you and your teenager to approach the process positively.
- Change is Constant
Recognise that we, and the world around us, are in constant states of change. We are likely to experience many jobs, in different career fields and with different employers during our working lives. Change brings opportunities so flexibility, versatility, and adaptability help us to successfully navigating change.
- Focus on the journey.
Life is made up of experiences gathered along a journey, while destinations are merely stops, we make. Our career journeys last our lifetimes, so it's best not to focus on one destination only. Setting goals on our journeys and paying attention to everything we learn helps us achieve them. While noticing the opportunities we encounter enables us to update our plans along the way.
- Know yourself and follow your heart.
Combining our interests with career opportunities helps us find fulfilment. When we have skills or ability in a certain area, we have a realistic chance of achieving it, and when we do something we enjoy, we tend to do our best.
- Align with allies.
Career success is a team effort involving the support of our families, friends, mentors, colleagues, and peers. Asking for guidance and talking to people about careers helps us access new information and opportunities.
- Learning is ongoing.
Finishing school is a milestone in our learning, but it is not the end of it! Learning opportunities are everywhere - in formal education, daily life, in the workplace, on the sporting field, doing hobbies, and so on. Learning helps us make the most of our world by developing new skills, improving ourselves, and staying motivated.
Career development is a cycle there are many theories and models of career development, but most describe several stages that we cycle through and revisit throughout our lives.
Rachael Reeves
Career Development Practitioner
P & F News
Thank you to the many parents, staff, students, and friends who supported Science Fair last week. It was a fun and engaging week with workshops, science shows, and Family Night where we had the opportunity to view displays from the independent Science Projects, as well as the fun of the Bottle Rocket and Catapult Challenges.
I would like to thank Rob and Lisa Hanna for kindly supporting the P&F, from funds raised at their Tennis Knockout this coming Friday. Raffle tickets will be available on the night and also from the school office, with a wonderful range of prizes, including a Webber BBQ, 19L Eski, $150 Toobeah Hotel voucher, and a Family Photo Session valued at $550.
We are now preparing for Starry Starry Night, on the first Friday in term 4. We encourage all families to come along for a night of fun, under the starlight. Bring a picnic blanket or chairs, settle in with catering available, and be entertained by our students who are offering a variety of acts from musical numbers to skits, dancing, and everything in between; also featuring our talented staff band. If you can offer a small amount of time during the night to help serve food and drinks, we will be putting a call out for helpers. We are also looking for 2 to 3 people to hang fairy lights on Friday afternoon.
For more information about the P&F, or to get involved contact us on GOOPandF@twb.catholic.edu.au
Denise Ellis
President P & F
Opti-Minds
Our four Opti-MINDS teams travelled to Toowoomba on Sunday to compete in the Opti-MINDS Challenge with 14 other schools from across the region. This involved writing a script and performing a play, according to a very specific criteria requiring problem solving. We entered three teams in the Language Literacy division and one team in the Science and Engineering Division. Teams are awarded First Place, then Honours. Three of our teams received Honours – for Science and Engineering only one school received Honours (us) and for Language and Literacy only three teams received Honours (2 of which were St Mary’s). This is an amazing result, and we are so proud of the perseverance, creativity and patience of all our Opti-MINDS members. Congratulations to our students on an excellent day representing your school.
Lou Cowley
Enrichment & Extension
Science Week
Science Week at St Mary’s was a hit! Our Year 7-10 students were immersed in a full day incursion led by Lizzy from Integrated Stem. They participated in coding, electronics, 3D design and virtual reality. Our Prep – Year 6 students participated in one hour workshops led by Brett from Big Bang Education. The students learnt about light, magnets and circuits. They finished the week with a very engaging science show. This idea was raised at the Term One P&F meeting and was brought to life and exceeded our expectations.
In conjunction with the workshops, students were able to enter the Science Fair. Students were supported by their parents and investigated some amazing topics. The P&F hosted a Family Science Challenge evening where all the projects were on display and families could launch a rocket and build a catapult.
Science Fair Awards
Prep – Year 2
Scientific First Place: Aria Schubert
Scientific High Commended: Annabel Wyllie
Engineering First Place: Archie Persse, Lucy Persse and Louie McClymont
Engineering Highly Commended: Willow White
Year 3 & Year 4
Scientific First Place: Tara Sim
Scientific High Commended: Georgina Mooney
Year 5 & Year 6
Scientific First Place: Olivia Houston, Lucy Pritchard and Josie Adornato
Scientific High Commended: Amelia Eulenstein and Abigail Collins
Engineering First Place: Luke Aylwin
Secondary
Scientific First Place: Josie Thompson
Engineering First Place: Jarin Charles
Engineering Highly Commended: Jarin Charles
People’s Choice
Alfred Charles
Jack Heath
Hugo Health & Malcolm Mooney
Addie O’Connor
Alex Kelly
Stella Reeves, Stella Reardon & Mackenzie Gibson
Geneieve Capp and Piper Rose
Sandy McClymont
Matilda Uebergang
Family Challenge Winners
Rocket: Klowss Family and Heath Family
Catapult: Martyn Family and Persse Family
Starry Starry Night
